Holidays & Winter Break

2024 Holidays

The College will observe the following paid holidays in the 2024 calendar year:

New Year's Day - Monday, January 1, 2024 
Memorial Day - Monday, May 27, 2024
Independence Day - Thursday, July 4, 2024
Labor Day - Monday, September 2, 2024
Thanksgiving Day - Thursday, November 28, 2024
Day After Thanksgiving - Friday, November 29, 2024
Day Before Christmas Day - Tuesday, December 24, 2024
Christmas Day - Wednesday, December 25, 2024

2025 Holidays

The College will observe the following paid holidays in the 2025 calendar year:

New Year's Day - Wednesday, January 1, 2025 
Memorial Day - Monday, May 26, 2025
Independence Day - Friday, July 4, 2025
Labor Day - Monday, September 1, 2025
Thanksgiving Day - Thursday, November 27, 2025
Day After Thanksgiving - Friday, November 28, 2025
Day Before Christmas Day - Wednesday, December 24, 2025
Christmas Day - Thursday, December 25, 2025

The 2026 New Year's Holiday will be Thursday, January 1, 2026.

Additionally, all eligible staff may take one paid floating holiday within the calendar year, in accordance with the Holidays and Winter Break Policy.

Dartmouth College Winter Break

Dartmouth offers an extended holiday break between the fall and winter terms. These days are considered a paid College shutdown, and employees who work these days will be paid at their normal rate of pay, with an opportunity to take the special days at another time.

  • In 2024, in addition to the already scheduled Christmas (December 24 and 25, 2024) and New Year's (January 1, 2025) holidays, the regularly scheduled workdays (December 23, 26, 27, 30, and 31, 2024) are designated as "break days."
  • In 2025, in addition to the already scheduled Christmas (December 24 and 25, 2025) and New Year's (January 1, 2026) holidays, the regularly scheduled workdays (December 26, 29, 30, 31, and January 2, 2026) are designated as "break days."
     

All regular staff and union employees, both full- and part-time, are eligible for the "break days," unless asked to work during this period to help the College maintain essential services. Temporary employees are not eligible. Any employee asked to work a "break day" will be paid at their normal base rate of pay.

The temperature in buildings during the holidays and "break days" is reduced to conserve energy. Temperatures will not be reduced in areas where essential services are being provided, open to the public, laboratories, museums, and other similar spaces. If there are specific questions about the temperatures, contact Facilities Operations and Management (FO&M).

The executive officers will determine what essential services must be maintained. It is expected that no more than 150 people will be asked to work their "break days" to maintain essential services.

For people working their designated "break days," supervisors should try to schedule alternative "break days" the week before Christmas. However, when this is not possible, alternative "break days" can be taken anytime after the holidays but before the end of the last pay period of the fiscal year. "Break days" cannot be carried over into the next fiscal year.

Supervisors are responsible for keeping track of "break days" for their employees. If bi-weekly paid, employees should indicate "break days" taken under the "other" column of the payroll time sheet.

Employees who terminate employment will not receive pay for the "break days" taken during the Winter Break unless they work the next regularly scheduled workday after the New Year holiday. "Break days" are not cumulative and are not counted for termination pay. If an employee has remaining "break days" and terminates employment before the end of the fiscal year, he/she is not eligible to receive pay for those days.

Many department services will change schedules due to the Winter Break and will make individual announcements.

Additional Winter Break Information

  • The "break days" are paid at the normal base rate of pay. Employees should not claim personal or vacation time during the "break days." The "break days" are in addition to their current bank of personal and vacation time.
  • All regular staff and union employees, both full- and part-time, who are not asked to work to maintain essential services during the Special Winter Break, are eligible for the additional "break days." Temporary employees are not eligible for "break days" pay, but if asked to work during the Special Winter Break, they will be paid at their normal rate of pay.
  • "Break days" cannot be carried over to the next fiscal year must be taken as a full day.
  • Employees terminating employment may not use the "break days" as part of their notice. "Break days" are not cumulative and are not counted for termination pay.

Employees Who Work During Break

  • The employees who work "break days" will be paid at their normal rate of pay. Non-exempt staff who work a scheduled holiday, however, will be paid at two times the hourly rate for each hour worked on that day, in addition to holiday pay.
  • If an employee is required to work the "break days" between the Christmas and New Year holidays, they will be encouraged to take alternative "break days" the week before the Christmas holiday. If the department determines that this would be too disruptive to maintain services, the supervisor may request that the employee take his/her "break days" at some other time before the end of the last pay period of this fiscal year. Likewise, employees required to work on a holiday that falls during winter break can arrange for an alternate day off with their supervisors.

Absences During the Break Days

  • The College is closed during winter break. Paid leave for bereavement, jury duty or civic duty only occur when you are scheduled to work. No “alternative” days are given in the event bereavement, jury duty or civic duty occurs during Winter Break, because employees are already being compensated for the time as “break days.”
  • If an employee is receiving a reduced STD rate when the College is closed during Winter Break the employee will receive their full pay for the “break days”.  All “holidays” will be paid at the reduced STD rate.

Timecards for Non-Exempt Staff 

  • Winter Break hours for employees who use a timeclock to enter time will be added by the employee's supervisor or finance center.
  • Employees who used the Kronos web-entry time system should add the Pay Code 'Winter Brk' and the associated hours to their electronic time cards for those winter break days that they do not work. 
    • Click in the column 'Pay Code' on the day that hours are to be added and select 'Winter Brk' from the drop down list.
    • Enter the number of hours in the 'Amount' column next to the added pay code.
  • If an employee works during Winter Break, worked hours should be added to the electronic timecard as usual: time in and time out on the specific day. If the employee does not work the full day/shift, those hours not worked should be added as 'Winter Brk' for that day by adding a line, selecting 'Winter Brk' from the drop down list, and entering the number of hours not worked. The total number of hours worked and not worked should not exceed 8 in any one day.

Essential Services

  • Divisions, along with recommendations from departments, will determine what services are essential, and supervisors will determine who will work during the Special Winter Break.
  • The executive officers will identify areas that will maintain essential services during the Special Winter Break with partial staffs as well as the individuals who will need to work during that time. It is the College's expectation that in total no more than 150 people will be working during the Special Winter Break.
  • The temperature in buildings during the holidays and break days is reduced to conserve energy. Temperatures will not be reduced in areas where essential services are being provided, open to the public, laboratories, museums, and other similar spaces. If there are specific questions about the temperatures, contact Facilities Operations and Management (FO&M).

 

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